


The Mechanics of Flight

by kara-lesbihonest (mxfivespot)



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Boss/Employee Relationship, F/F, First Kiss, Flying, cat grant has to ask for what she wants, kara danvers is a perfect cinnamon roll, kara flying with cat, midair makeout, supercat, supertrashco
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 12:14:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5496704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mxfivespot/pseuds/kara-lesbihonest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kara has been waiting warily to find out what Cat Grant will ask for in exchange for keeping her identity a secret.  But when Cat finally asks for what she wants, Kara is relieved and delighted to give it to her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Mechanics of Flight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xxtorchxx](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=xxtorchxx).



> This is the result of a lovely prompt from my fellow supertrashco member xxtorchxx.tumblr.com. Thank you for the inspiration and the beta. :)

Kara nervously smoothed her skirt down over her thighs, staring at herself in the mirror. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, exactly - her appearance was fine, and the suit did the rest. She looked into her own eyes in the reflection and removed her glasses. That was better. Her jaw was firm and her resolve was steady.

It was time to go see what Cat Grant wanted in return for her silence.

To be fair, maybe she hadn’t given her boss enough credit. So far, there had been no sign that she intended to out Kara to the world. Business (and Cat’s favorite thing in the world was business) had gone on as usual. Cat was still bossy, Kara was still mousy, and their dynamic rolled along smoothly on the path that they’d built together. It was a mutual understanding, a negotiated exchange of power.

But now, as ridiculous as it sounded, Cat had some real power over her for the first time. To anyone who saw them together at Catco, the idea that Cat Grant hadn’t _already_ possessed all the power in their working relationship would have been laugh-out-loud ludicrous. But Kara knew differently. Voluntary service was a hell of a lot different than acts performed under threat of blackmail. There was a deep part of her that feared what was about to happen.

But still, Cat wasn’t a horrible person. Whatever she wanted was likely to be advantageous to her career, not something terrible or criminal.

“Whatever, Supergirl,” Kara muttered to herself. “Let’s go get this over with.”

Kara took a long leap off her balcony and soared toward Catco headquarters.

* * *

The summer air was warm and dry, gusting gently against her as she slowed near the familiar balcony off of Cat’s office. She could feel the life-giving rays of Earth’s sun warming her back as she hovered just over the ledge, and she floated there enjoying the first bold throes of summer. Kara was a summer girl at heart - she loved the ocean, the sand, the golden glow of sunset over surfers honing their craft. The warmth made her feel hopeful and free.

Despite her misgivings about the purpose of this meeting, her stomach gave a light flip when Cat strode out of her office door and graced her with a rare smile. Summer didn’t look so bad on Cat, either. Her boss wore a white sleeveless shift blouse and pastel blue pants that would almost - _almost_ \- be casual, if it wasn’t for her white stiletto heels. She looked relaxed.

Kara could feel her face warm and she smiled back. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was looking into the sun, even though the sunset was right behind her.

“Hello Miss Grant,” Kara said. She landed on the balcony and stood, hands on her hips, still smiling at the woman in front of her.

“Supergirl,” Cat said with a sly smile. She walked over to an ice bucket on the balcony (one Kara had arranged for just earlier that afternoon) and took out a chilled bottle of champagne. She poured herself a glass but didn’t offer one to Kara - she knew by now that Kara wouldn’t drink when she was wearing the suit.

Cat downed her champagne and stared at Kara, a soft smile playing at her features. Kara squirmed a little, still uncomfortable under the scrutiny even when someone already knew her true identity.

“So Miss Grant?” Kara asked. “How can I help?”

Cat sighed and set down her glass on the table. She straightened herself and paced slowly as she talked.

“I’m not used to asking for things, Kara,” she began. “It’s not… I suppose you might say it’s not in my nature. And I usually find it more effective to make demands than requests.”

Kara watched her boss pace, fiddling with her fingers in an somewhat agitated way. Was this…. was this nerves? Was Cat Grant nervous? Kara was quite enjoying seeing this woman slightly off balance.

“... but because you and I are… well, whatever we are, I’d like to ask you for this. Respectfully. Instead of demanding it.”

Kara stepped quickly into her line of pacing and Cat stopped short. “Why don’t you start by telling me what you _would_ ask me for, theoretically,” Kara said, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “If you were, you know, used to asking for things.”

Cat’s eyes met hers, then dropped to Kara’s mouth, then down to the S on her chest and quickly back up to gaze out at the sunset.

“I want to know what it’s like,” Cat said quietly.

Kara froze. “...what _what’s_ like?” she asked.

Cat waved her hand to the sky. “I want to know what it’s like to fly. To fly with you. So if I were in the habit of asking for things… that’s what I would ask for.” Cat still wasn’t looking at her.

“Oh, Miss Grant! Is that all? That’s what you want in exchange for keeping my secret?” Kara asked, incredulous and relieved.

“Jesus Kara, what did you think, I was going to extort you for money?” Cat spat out, but her harsh tone was dampened by the soft look on her face.

Kara laughed and closed the distance between them. Cat was acutely aware of Kara’s size and strength. They weren’t often physically close, and though Cat knew intellectually the girl was a force of nature, it was another thing entirely to feel her presence first hand while she was wearing _that suit_.

“So how do we… how do we do this?” Cat asked. She’d suddenly forgotten what to do with her hands.

Kara was completely at ease now, her cape fluttering behind her and her heart fluttering excitedly in her chest. Flying she could handle.

“Well, you should start by taking these off,” she said, and before Cat could move, Kara dropped to one knee and took one of Cat’s slim ankles in her hand. Cat reached out instinctively and rested a hand on Kara’s shoulder to steady herself as she watched Kara gently slip off one white stiletto, then the other. Kara turned her face upward with a cheerful grin. When both shoes were off and placed carefully to the side, Kara stood.

“Wouldn’t want to lose one mid-air,” Kara said, and gave a little wink.

Cat was not ready for this confident version of Kara. In fact, she was ready for absolutely none of this. But she’d asked for it, and when she asked Kara for something, she always got it, so what did she expect?

“Now,” Kara said, “I’m going to put my arms around your waist, okay?” She moved closer with exaggerated slowness, allowing Cat a chance to feel like she was in control of the situation. Kara wrapped her arms gently around Cat’s waist and gave her a minute to get used to the feeling.

“Okay,” Cat said. “This is okay. You’re already a better dancer than Maxwell Lord,” she muttered. Cat was rewarded with an infectious giggle from Kara, and she couldn’t help but smile.

“All right, now just step up and stand on my feet,” Kara said. She nudged Cat closer with her arms and Cat looked down between them until her bare feet were balanced on those familiar red boots. Kara tightened her grip and she could feel the exact moment that Cat relaxed and melted into her body. Her hands were still resting lightly on Kara’s biceps.

“Where should I,” Cat began. “I mean, what’s the best way to-”

“Around my neck, Miss Grant,” Kara said, and Cat complied without question. She stretched her arms up and linked her hands behind Kara’s neck, locking her grip and looking up into Kara’s eyes.

She wasn’t prepared for this, either. Yet here she was.

“Now we’re just going to float, so you can get used to the feel of it- I mean the feel of-” Kara stuttered. “So you can get used to the feel of flying,” she finished roughly.

Cat, being older and wiser and arguably more in tune with her baser urges, knew that she would _not_ get used to this any time soon. Neither being pressed up against the young hero’s body, nor floating above her own balcony, was likely to top Cat’s list of things she’d easily get over.

She lifted them a few inches into the air, and Cat clung to Kara like her life depended on it, which made Kara laugh.

“It’s okay Miss Grant, I’ve got you. I once caught Alex from a freefall at over 300 miles per-”

“Kara, darling, how about you don’t use the word ‘freefall’ while we’re doing this, hmm?” she said.

Kara had the decency to look lightly chastised. “Right, of course, sorry,” she said. Kara spun them around a little, her cape twirling in the air and Cat let out a gasp of surprise. She stood on her tiptoes on Kara’s boots, startled and desperate to be closer to the security of Kara’s body. They slowed and Cat finally opened her eyes again, but she still couldn’t look down.

“Okay Miss Grant,” Kara said. “Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said gamely.

With that Kara gripped her tight and took off, spinning them in the air as she soared upward toward the clouds. Cat had her eyes shut tight and felt small and solid under Kara’s hands. Once she broke through the late evening cloud cover to the orange sky above, Kara slowed and hovered, making sure Cat was standing solidly on her boots. Kara’s strong, reassuring arms were still locked around Cat’s waist.

“Cat, open your eyes,” Kara said gently.

It took her a minute to slow her breathing, but when Cat popped open one eye and then the other, the look on her face was exactly what Kara had desperately wanted to see. Cat was amazed. Perfect puffy clouds stretched in every direction, floating aimlessly along in a golden ocean of late evening sun. The breeze was cooler up here but still comfortable, and Kara spun them in another slow circle so Cat could take in the view of the sky in every direction, the city a silent map down below. Kara could stare at nothing but the woman’s face, absolutely delighted at seeing her experience this for the first time.

It wasn’t often someone got to show Cat Grant something she’d never seen before.

Cat looked up at Kara and let out a breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding.

Kara smiled and reached up a hand to smooth strands of Cat’s windblown hair out of her face. Cat’s expression turned serious then, and Kara froze with her hand tangled in Cat’s hair. Now it was Kara who felt woefully unprepared.

“Kara, this is unbelievable,” Cat said. “... you’re unbelievable,” she said, more softly this time. Unaccustomed to the praise, Kara closed her eyes in response.

“Kara… open your eyes,” Cat said. Kara obeyed, and Cat was staring at her mouth in a way that was unmistakable. “Are you ready?” Cat asked with a smile.

Kara blinked her eyes open and the crazy thing was, she _was_ ready. She stared at Cat’s mouth, her lips pursed ever so slightly. She could feel Cat’s chest warm against her own, a stark contrast to the rapidly chilling air. She should have seen this coming from the moment she knelt down at Cat’s feet - metaphorically, physically, all of it. She _hadn’t_ seen it coming, but she saw it now, as clear as she heard Cat’s heartbeat like a kick drum in her ears. She was so unbelievably ready, but all she could do was nod silently.

With that, Cat placed a light, chaste kiss on Kara’s lips. Kara dragged her hands through Cat’s hair and Cat kissed her again, sliding her tongue ever so gently against Kara’s mouth, waiting. But she didn’t have to wait long. Kara allowed her entrance and when she felt Cat’s tongue move against hers, she knew that she was not ready, would never be ready for this feeling. She had never felt a punch quite like being kissed in midair by Cat Grant.

When Cat finally broke the kiss, her smile was warm and her eyes were filled with an expression Kara might have called adoration if she didn’t know better.

“Okay, enough of that, Supergirl,” Cat said, giving one of Kara’s golden curls a light tug. “Taking a girl flying is quite the move. But the next kiss needs to be earthbound. I can reach you better in my heels.”

Kara laughed and Cat gripped her tight as they dropped below the clouds toward solid ground.


End file.
